The Age of Federalism: The Early American Republic, 1788-1800 [Paperback]

Stanley Elkins (Author), Eric McKitrick (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 019509381X | ISBN-13: 978-0195093810 | Publication Date: February 23, 1995

When Thomas Jefferson took the oath of office for the presidency in 1801, America had just passed through twelve critical years, years dominated by some of the towering figures of our history and by the challenge of having to do everything for the first time. Washington, Hamilton, Madison, Adams, and Jefferson himself each had a share in shaping that remarkable era--an era that is brilliantly captured in The Age of Federalism.
Written by esteemed historians Stanley Elkins and Eric McKitrick, The Age of Federalism gives us a reflective, deeply informed analytical survey of this extraordinary period. Ranging over the widest variety of concerns--political, cultural, economic, diplomatic, and military--the authors provide a sweeping historical account, keeping always in view not only the problems the new nation faced but also the particular individuals who tried to solve them. As they move through the Federalist era, they draw subtly perceptive character sketches not only of the great figures--Washington and Jefferson, Talleyrand and Napoleon Bonaparte--but also of lesser ones, such as George Hammond, Britain's frustrated minister to the United States, James McHenry, Adams's hapless Secretary of War, the pre-Chief Justice version of John Marshall, and others. They weave these lively profiles into an analysis of the central controversies of the day, turning such intricate issues as the public debt into fascinating depictions of opposing political strategies and contending economic philosophies. Each dispute bears in some way on the broader story of the emerging nation. The authors show, for instance, the consequences the fight over Hamilton's financial system had for the locating of the nation's permanent capital, and how it widened an ideological gulf between Hamilton and the Virginians, Madison and Jefferson, that became unbridgeable. The statesmen of the founding generation, the authors believe, did "a surprising number of things right." But Elkins and McKitrick also describe some things that went resoundingly wrong: the hopelessly underfinanced effort to construct a capital city on the Potomac (New York, they argue, would have been a far more logical choice than Washington), and prosecutions under the Alien and Sedition Acts which turned into a comic nightmare. No detail is left out, or left uninteresting, as their account continues through the Adams presidency, the XYZ affair, the naval Quasi-War with France, and the desperate Federalist maneuvers in 1800, first to prevent the reelection of Adams and then to nullify the election of Jefferson.
The Age of Federalism is the fruit of many years of discussion and thought, in which deep scholarship is matched only by the lucid distinction of its prose. With it, Stanley Elkins and Eric McKitrick have produced the definitive study, long awaited by historians, of the early national era.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

This magisterial, detailed history of the early American republic through 1800 reminds us that the "Founding Fathers" were revolutionaries, full of volatile passions that cemented or shattered friendships and shaped their cultural orientations. Alexander Hamilton's Federalist program calling for a sizable funded debt, a strong national bank, subsidized manufactures and a standing army aroused the deep enmity of Thomas Jefferson, who, the authors maintain, pursued his rival agrarian, egalitarian vision with a "self-deceiving obstinacy" that often matched Hamilton's imperiousness. They probe the deep anglophobia of Jefferson, Madison and the Virginia elite, whose decision to place the capital on a stretch of uninhabited wasteland on the Potomac contributed to the young republic's fragmented, provincial culture, according to Elkins ( Slavery ), a Smith history professor, and McKitrick ( Andrew Johnson and Reconstruction ), a Columbia professor emeritus. Full of vibrant portraits of the Federalists and their opponents, this outstanding, provocative chronicle sheds much new light on the emergence of American partisan politics.
Copyright 1993 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Library Journal

Two renowned historians apply their talents to the history of the United States during the administrations of George Washington and John Adams. It's all here--Hamilton's financial plans, the capital fight, the Jay crisis, the Quasi-War. But this book is much more than a mere chronicle of the parties and politics of the period 1789-1801. The authors thoroughly embed their account in the political culture of the time. They explore America's dominant republican ideology more fully here than in any other source, making the book this generation's standard interpretive study. A volume in the "Oxford History of the United States" series, it will reward even seasoned professionals with its insights, coverage, and reflections.
- Harry W. Fritz, Univ. of Montana, Missoula
Copyright 1993 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 944 pages
• Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA (February 23, 1995)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 019509381X
• ISBN-13: 978-0195093810
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 6.2 x 1.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.8 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (23 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #82,995 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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26 of 27 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Leisurely and Learned Look at the Founding Years, November 3, 2004

By 

James R. Mccall (Libertyville, IL USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Age of Federalism: The Early American Republic, 1788-1800 (Paperback)

This book is about the fateful decisions and maneuvers our government took in the dozen years after the Constitution was adopted and the new country launched. The predatory European powers were a danger. The states, suddenly demoted to mere parts of a much larger entity, had local interests that sometimes boisterously resisted the new central government. Even the location of the federal capital became a focus for plots and low comedy. Finally, the Constitution left many things unsaid that had to be worked out in these first few years so that the government could run at all.

The spine of the story, though, is the ideological split between James Madison and Alexander Hamilton, the two most brilliant exponents of the new constitution and partners in getting it accepted. They fell out over issues dear to Hamilton and repugnant to Madison: a national bank, funding of the Revolutionary War debts, and the encouraging of manufacturing and commerce. The assuming of the war debt by the new federal government and its funding through the new bank meant that various bonds, notes, and IOU's that had been floating around for years, and trading at about 1 percent of their face value, suddenly became worth something. The subsequent scramble to speculate in all this paper repelled Madison and Jefferson. Hamilton was more sophisticated than these planter-aristocrats in the ways of money, and he viewed the scenes of greed and folly as no more than the means by which the debt would approach to par value and, through the Bank, become an actual resource for the use of capitalists in need of loans.

Madison -- and increasingly, Jefferson -- very self-consciously formed an "interest": the Republicans. They stood for states' rights as against the too-vigorous centralizing tendencies they saw Hamilton encouraging. They stood for the independent farmer as against the "money men" of the cities and their dependent mobs of factory workers. How could the virtue necessary to a true democracy be nurtured in a dark Satanic mill or a counting house?

The interesting thing about this "interest" of theirs was that they dared not call it a "party": that idea was anathema to the age -- Washington himself spoke much against party and faction. But that Republican interest proved to be, in nascent form, the first political party. It was soon opposed by another equally self-concious "interest": the Federalists, whose guiding spirit was Hamilton.

This book traces the rivalry between Federalists and Republicans, parties before the age of political parties. The writing is fine, and charming portraits of the players in this drama, as they come and go, entertain even as they deepen the story. The authors' scholarship is well equal to the task (the book won the Bancroft history prize), and they rather playfully take time here and there to revise certain received ideas about the period, without simply setting up a new dogmatism. They are particularly strong on the diplomatic games that were afoot with France and England, to keep us out of their wars and out of their clutches. But basically it is a portrait of that most interesting time in our country -- its beginning.

24 of 25 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Excellent interpretative history of early American., June 1, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: The Age of Federalism - The Early American Republic, 1788 - 1800 (Hardcover)

This is an excellent analysis of the beginnings of our system of government, politics, and foreign policy. Learned but never pedantic, written in a graceful and appropriate style, the authors present an insightful study of the formation of our political system and government. This is not a traditional narrative history and can best be read by someone familiar with at least the outline of this period of American life. It is rather a series of extended essays on crucial topics linked by a common focus on the achievements and shortcomings of the Federalist movement. Important issues covered include the establishment of the legitimacy of the Federal government, the role of Washington, the establishment of the policy of neutrality, our relations with Britain and France, and the beginnings of the party system. The personalities and ideologies of all the key actors are dealt with in concise and penetrating sections whose political, intellectual, and social contexts are formulated carefully. As the authors point out, our modern system of government and politics developed its major recognizable features by the 1830s. This outstanding book is an essential text for understanding how that process began.

22 of 23 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars The Age of Federalism, August 8, 2004

By 

C. Baker "cbaker" (Washington, DC) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Age of Federalism: The Early American Republic, 1788-1800 (Paperback)

This is a very detailed account of American History from 1788-1800 - which is from the ratification of the Constitution to the end of the John Adams administration. Unless you are very interested in this period of American History I would not recommend it. It is not an easy read for someone who has a more general interest in American History.

The authors do an excellent job of organizing and explaining the political events during this critical period of our nation's history. It is called The Age of Federalism because it is during this time that those in favor of a more robust and powerful central (federal) government established the framework for how the constitution would operate in practice. The two most important figures were George Washington and Alexander Hamilton. John Adams could be added to this list only as a result of his becoming the second President of the United States. His truculent personality, lack of executive experience, and inability to foster working relationships with other "Federalists" contributed to Jefferson's ascension to the Presidency 1800 and the end of The Federalist Era.

This was a period of time that saw the informal creation of what were, essentially, political parties. They were not political parties in the modern sense, but two loose factions existed that broke along very fundamental conceptions of how the government should operate. Opposite the Federalists were "the Republicans" led by Thomas Jefferson and James Madison.

Several key political issues divided these factions. The most important was how much power the federal government should actually have. The Federalists wanted a strong federal government, while Republicans leaned toward a less powerful central government with more authority residing in the states. There were also other divides: Jefferson's idealistic (and unrealistic) conception of the country as yeoman farmers versus the Federalist's desire to foster mercantilism. The Federalist were supposedly pro-British, while the Republicans pro-France - with reactions to the French Revolution playing a key role in factional politics. And to some degree Federalist were seen as desiring a more elitist governing structure with limited participation by the populace in selecting the highest offices coupled with a strong executive branch, versus the supposedly more populist Republicans who desired more power in the more "popular" branches of government - the legislative branch and state governments. The issues of standing armies, taxation, and a national bank, among other issues, all were part of this divisive period.

By the time Jefferson became president the federal government and its foundation were clearly established and its legitimacy secured, which is what made this era so critically important in the nation's history.